Hawks rebuilding

The Mountlake Terrace volleyball team is looking to its three seniors to provide leadership for a team lacking in experience.

Libero Anja Pendergraft, middle hitter Kelsey Fleetwood and outside hitter Lael Swanson already are hard at work with the rest of the Hawks’ squad.

“I have three seniors who are great leaders,” said head coach Marietta Snyder. “They’re positive. They’re always taking the younger ones and making them feel they’re a big part of our team.”

The rest of the team is moving up from the junior varsity squad, which had some talent.

Sophomore setter Christina Jensen is a smart player who understands the game, Snyder said. Another up-and-coming player is junior middle hitter Kori Seidlitz, a standout softball pitcher. Junior outside hitter Tiffany Staley, a basketball player, also has plenty of raw talent.

At 5-foot-11, Seidlitz is the Hawks’ tallest player. The rest of the team averages about 5-7.

“Besides the lack of experience, I don’t have much height,” Snyder said. “We’re going to have to be really strong in our defensive skills. That’s for sure.”

The focus at practice is on defensive coverage and trying to finetune the accuracy in passing.

“We’re going to have some sort of trick plays in our book,” Snyder added. “We can’t set outside, outside all the time.”

Snyder plans to take advantage of the Hawks’ good team speed and wants her squad to set an aggressive tone in matches. But just as important is the players’ knowledge of the game and how they apply that knowledge.

“Volleyball is not all about just smashing the ball,” Snyder said. “It’s also about being intelligent on the court.”

The Hawks haven’t lowered their expectations. The three seniors want to get another taste of the district playoffs.

“They’re really fearless kind of players, very prideful,” Snyder said. “They want to do well. They practice hard and they’re willing to do whatever it takes.”